Events in the third quarter were overshadowed by the nationaltragedy which struck the nation Sept. 11.

The terrorist act had far-reaching consequences which evenaffected locals here, sparking a patriotic fervor and nationalisticpride as well as remorse for the victims and a sincere desire tohelp the survivors.

Little had changed until Sept. 11, however, as locals continuedto experience the more routine events of the year:

@Subhead:July

@Normal:

Two Columbus women were sentenced to 44 years in prison afterbeing convicted of all counts July 1 in a morphine possession andaggravated assault trial. The charges were in connection with thesexual assault of a 21-year-old Vicksburg woman at a Brookhavenmotel in March 2000.

Dr. James H. Stribling Jr., a long-time Brookhaven dentalsurgeon and community leader, died July 7 at his residence. He was72. He had retired as the chairman of the Board of Trustees forCopiah-Lincoln Community College only a few months before. He hadserved on that board for 34 years, with 27 years as chairman. TheJames H. Stribling Associate Degree Nursing Building at Co-Lin wasnamed in his honor in 1994.

Lincoln County officials were busy in early July dealing withresidents upset over new property values following a state-mandatedcounty-wide property reappraisal. More than 11,000 notices weresent out to owners whose property values had increased by $1,000 ormore from 2000 to 2001.

Two Franklin County High School students drowned July 9 whileswimming on the Homochitto River. The two boys, ages 14 and 15,were caught in a current and pulled underwater while on an outingwith several other students.

A picnic turned to tragedy July 12 when a 19-year-old Hazlehurstman drowned in a Lincoln County pool. The man drowned whileparticipating in a Mississippi Job Corps Center staff-family picnicat The Rays, an outdoor getaway on Highway 51.

A financial advisor was appointed by the state board ofeducation to the Lincoln County School District July 20 after anaudit revealed insufficient financial records and missingfunds.

Authorities and store officials were looking for an arsonistduring the end of July and beginning of August after three fireswere set inside the Wal Mart Supercenter, igniting clothes andpricing labels. No one was injured in the fires.

@Subhead:August

@Normal:

The second week of August was a busy one for county officials asthey met individually with residents and heard complaints aboutproperty value reappraisals.

A 16-member Mississippi School of the Arts Foundation board wasformed and held their first meeting Aug. 8. The board wasestablished by the State Board of Education and is charged withsecuring private funding to assist the school.

Storms struck the area hard Aug. 10-11, downing trees and powerlines. Several Brookhaven and Monticello streets were closedbecause of flooding and power outages were common in bothcounties.

The city board voted Aug. 21 to locate the Brookhaven RecreationDepartment in the old National Guard Armory on Highway 84. The movewas made after residents of the area complained earlier in the yearof the city’s plan to locate the city barn there.

Funeral services for former Brookhaven Alderman Danny Sam PepperSr. were held Aug. 26. Pepper, 52, died Aug. 23 at Lawrence CountyHospital of heart failure. He was the Ward 6 alderman from1989-1995 and a member of the police department from 1979-1985.

County officials announced in late August that about 56 percentof the 800 land parcels involved in property value objectionhearings would see some adjustments when supervisors approved thenew values.

A jury deliberated only 45 minutes Aug. 29 before finding churchleader David Earl King and his adopted son, Nathan Paul King, bothof Tylertown, guilty of abusing a 14-year-old boy who attendedtheir church and school. David Earl King was sentenced to 36 yearsin prison for sexual battery, conspiracy to commit sexual batteryand contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Nathan Paul Kingreceived 18 years and six months on the same charges.

@Subhead:September

@Normal:

Creeks, rivers and ditches in Lincoln County spilled over theirbanks the first few days of September as more than six inches ofrain was dumped on the area. Many county streets and bridges wereclosed until flood waters receded.

Approximately 62 Lakewood Village residents filed a petitionseeking to be excluded from any city annexation plan Sept. 5, butBrookhaven officials said that the area and others are needed ifthe city is to grow and develop. At the end of the year, the cityhad not annexed any new property.

President Bush nominated Dunn Lampton to the post of UnitedStates Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Sept. 7.Lampton was a prosecutor in Lincoln, Pike and Walthall countiessince 1976 and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1998 and2000.

In a horrific sequence of destruction Sept. 11, terroristshijacked three airliners and crashed two of them into New York’sWorld Trade Center and one into the Pentagon, bringing down thetowers and killing thousands. A fourth hijacked airliner crashedinto a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. The newsstunned America and nearly everyone stopped to watch the news.Locally, the news was received with sadness and a rapid floweringof patriotism.

LaToya Wilcher, a 1997 graduate of Brookhaven High School, wasworking on the 52nd floor of the World Trade Center when disasterstruck Sept. 11. She escaped the strike and subsequent collapse ofthe towers.

Lincoln Countians joined people across the country Sept. 11 topray for healing following the terrorist attacks. Citizens andcourthouse employees packed the government complex lobby for a noonprayer service. Community prayer vigils continued to be held formore than a week after the disaster.

Aside from prayer, Lincoln Countians also flocked to donateblood in the following weeks. Blood services centers were floodedwith volunteers and thousands of pints of blood were collected.

Suspects in the armed robbery of Bank of Franklin didn’t havelong to spend the money they allegedly took Sept. 24 – authoritieshad them handcuffed in less than an hour. The case against the twomen is still awaiting trial.

An early-morning fire Sept. 28 destroyed two commercialbuildings near the intersection of Highway 51 and Highway 550 andleft two people hospitalized with burns to their feet. A thirdperson was treated for minor injuries and a firefighter for smokeinhalation. All of the injured recovered. Businesses in thebuilding included Brookhaven Chiropractic Clinic, Thrift Home Care,Associated Radiologists, Orthopedics Clinic of SouthwestMississippi and AAA Check Cashing Service. Ben’s Sporting Goods andthree vehicles were also in flames.

Downtown Brookhaven’s streets were packed Sept. 28-29 asthousands of people came out to enjoy quality family entertainmentor to browse and shop at vendors’ booths during the 27th Annual OleBrook Festival. Headliners of the event were Christian groupsNewsong, Anointed, Natalie Grant and Soul Focus.